Men's 🏀: Chadron State scorches nets to earn first win of season

A dozen Chadron State College players reached the scoring column Sunday afternoon when the Eagles defeated the Presentation College Saints 83-53 in a men’s basketball game in the Chicoine Center.

It was the first victory for the Eagles whose previous five games were on the road, where they were outscored by an average of only 6.6 points a game.

Chadron State was ahead all the way Sunday, posting a 14-3 margin in the first five minutes and owning a 43-13 lead after 13:30 had been played. The Eagles sank six 3-pointers while building that 30-point margin.

The hosts shot exactly 50 percent from the field for the game, connecting on 34 of 68 shots.

But it wasn’t just the offense that pleased CSC Coach Houston Reed.

“I was proud of the way we started with a great defensive mindset,” Reed said. “We played really well at times. We’re a pretty capable group. We just need to become more consistent and make the most of every possession. Our guys are working hard to get everything put together. We’re excited to be starting conference play this weekend.”

Reed allowed all 14 players who suited up to play at least five minutes and only one Eagle was on the floor more than 20 minutes.

Brian Rodriguez, a 6-4 senior who transferred from San Jose State this fall, led the Eagles with 15 points and eight rebounds. He was five of eight from the field, including three of five from behind the arc, and made both of his free throws.

Rodriguez was the team’s only double-figure scorer, but off-guard Dominic Coleman tallied nine points and two inside players, Walker Andrew and Kenan Gray, along with versatile Stephon Bell, all contributed eight. That foursome made 17 of their 25 field goal attempts.

Point guard Colby Jackson handed out nine assists and had just one turnover.

Presentation, which admittedly is struggling this season, is now 2-10 for the season, but continued to hustle throughout the contest. The Saints’ leading scorer was 6-2 junior Nate Seyoum with 10 points. Elijah Coleman, a 6-4 senior, added eight.

Located at Aberdeen, S.D., Presentation shot 31 percent from the field and outscored the Eagles 13-4 from the free throw line.

Chadron State opens Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play this weekend by hosting two Denver teams--Colorado Christian on Friday night and Regis on Saturday night. The Eagles will then become road warriors again, playing their next five games in foreign gyms prior to their next home date on Jan. 10.

DENVER (AP) — Brandon McManus’ 53-yard field goal as time expired, set up by a long interference call, capped a furious final 14 seconds and gave the Broncos a 23-20 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Rookie quarterback Drew Lock’s debut win for Denver came a month after Brandon Allen beat Cleveland. It made the Broncos the first team in league history to have two quarterbacks start and win their NFL debuts in the same season.

The winner by McManus, who stormed off the field just before halftime when coach Vic Fangio changed his mind about letting him attempt a record 65-yard field goal, was set up by a 38-yard pass interference call on Chargers cornerback Casey Hayward Jr.

Diontae Spencer returned the kickoff 26 yards to the Denver 28 after the Chargers tied the game at 20 on Michael Badgley’s 46-yard field goal with 14 seconds remaining. With 9 seconds left, Lock threw deep down the right sideline to Sutton, who caught his two first-quarter touchdown passes.

Sutton collided with Hayward and the yellow flag came out. The Chargers argued vehemently about the defensive pass interference, giving the Broncos the ball at the Chargers 35-yard line with 3 seconds remaining.

The Chargers (4-8) continued jawing with both the Broncos (4-8) and the officiating crew as the Broncos stormed the field following McManus’ field goal.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson ran for 101 yards in miserable conditions and Justin Tucker kicked a tiebreaking 49-yard field goal as time expired to give the Baltimore Ravens a 20-17 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

The combination of driving rain, a stiff wind and San Francisco’s rugged defense made things difficult for Jackson, who completed only 14 of 23 passes for 105 yards and lost a fumble. But he directed a clutch drive that lasted nearly 6½ minutes before Tucker ended it.

It’s a franchise-record eighth straight twin for the 10-2 Ravens. Baltimore improved to 16-3 with Jackson as a starter and 12-0 when he rushes for at least 70 yards. In addition, Jackson became the first quarterback in NFL history to have four 100-yard rushing games in a season.

Raheem Mostert ran for a career-high 146 yards and a touchdown for the 49ers, who are now tied with New Orleans for the best record in the NFC at 10-2.

NFL SUNDAY

Patrick Mahomes threw for a touchdown and ran for a touchdown, Juan Thornhill returned a pick 46 yards for another score, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the bumbling Oakland Raiders 40-9 on Sunday to seize control of the AFC West.

LeSean McCoy and Darwin Thompson also had TD runs for the Chiefs (8-4), who took a two-game lead over the Raiders by finishing off a season sweep. That means Kansas City can clinch a fourth straight division title with a win over New England and an Oakland loss to Tennessee next weekend.

Oakland (6-6) sure didn’t play like a team fighting for a piece of the division lead.

Derek Carr dropped to 0-6 at Arrowhead Stadium with another miserable outing, throwing for 222 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. The Raiders failed to score twice in the red zone, were penalized 12 times for 99 yards, and seemingly quit when Kansas City put together a 9 1/2-minute drive almost entirely on the ground that soaked up most of the fourth quarter.

When the Raiders finally scored a touchdown in the last minute, the Chiefs blocked the extra point and returned it for two points — one more insult to Oakland in a game full of them.

It was the Raiders’ seventh straight loss in Kansas City, and the continuation of a major late-season spiral. The blowout came on the heels of a 34-3 loss to the Jets last weekend.

Aaron Rodgers threw four touchdown passes in the snow and the Green Bay Packers rebounded from a dismal West Coast performance to beat the New York Giants 31-13. The 9-3 Packers sent the 2-10 Giants to their eighth straight loss, their worst skid since 2004. Rodgers finished 21 of 33 for 243 yards with no interceptions on a slippery day at MetLife Stadium. Rodgers hit Davante Adams on touchdown passes of 8 and 17 yards, found a wide-open Allen Lazard for 37 yards and capped the performance with a 1-yarder to Marcedes Lewis. The Packers also intercepted Giants rookie Daniel Jones three times, setting up 10 points.

DeVante Parker made two acrobatic touchdown receptions and kicker Jason Sanders also had a circus-like scoring catch to help the Miami Dolphins rally past the slumping Philadelphia Eagles 37-31. Miami overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half with three touchdowns in less than 13 minutes. The 3-9 Dolphins won for the third time in their past five games. The 5-7 Eagles lost their third game in a row and missed a chance to pull into a tie with Dallas atop the NFC East.

"Duck" Hodges threw for 212 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his second career start, and the banged-up Steelers exacted revenge for their whipping at the hands of the Browns two weeks ago with a 20-13 victory. Pittsburgh boosted its postseason chances by rallying from 10 points down thanks in large part to Hodges, who was made the starter in place of struggling Mason Rudolph. Pittsburgh improved to 7-5 while the Browns fell to 5-7.

Andy Dalton returned from his three-week exile and got a long-awaited win for the coach who benched him, throwing a touchdown pass during a 22-6 victory over the New York Jets that ended the longest losing streak in Cincinnati Bengals history. The Bengals had lost 13 in a row since the end of last season. Coach Zac Taylor benched Dalton after the eighth loss, deciding to see whether Ryan Finley fit into the team’s long-term plans. With the rookie struggling and the season careening toward 0-16, Taylor reversed course and went back to Dalton.

Tye Smith returned a blocked field goal 63 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 5:02 left to play, helping Tennessee turn the tables at Indianapolis with a 31-17 victory. The 7-5 Titans snapped a three-game losing streak in the series, winning for only the third time in the past 17 meetings. Adam Vinatieri missed three field goals for 6-6 Indy, with two being blocked including the decisive kick that Dane Cruikshank got his hand on. Vinatieri has missed 14 kicks this season — eight field goals and six extra points.

Tampa Bay turned Nick Foles’ three first-half turnovers into touchdowns and beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 28-11. It was the fourth consecutive loss for the 4-8 Jaguars and could cost coach Doug Marrone his job. Marrone benched Foles in favor of Gardner Minshew at halftime. The 5-7 Buccaneers have won two straight for the first time in coach Bruce Arians' first season.

Derrius Guice ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns and the Washington Redskins overcame an early 14-point deficit and held on to beat the Carolina Panthers 29-21 for their second straight victory. Adrian Peterson added 99 yards and a score as the 3-9 Redskins piled up 248 yards on the ground and set a new season high for points. The loss was the fourth straight for the 5-7 Panthers.